The Radical Transgender Movement ~ Lessons for the Left
By Alexander Lee and MC Ettinger @
LeftTurn.orghttp://queerswithoutborders.com/wpmu/blog/2009/08/24/lessons-for-the-left-from-the-radical-transgender-movement/ People often fail to realize that although the contemporary gay rights movement is currently utilizing much of its resources for marriage rights, it is a movement that has rebellious, even revolutionary roots. Even fewer people realize the crucial role that multi-racial, mostly working class, transgender and gender variant people played in this history.
The notorious shoe which set off New York's now famous Stonewall Riot in 1969 was slung by the legendary Sylvia Rivera, a Latina transgender woman. One year later, Rivera co-founded Street ->-bleeped-<-s Action Revolutionaries (STAR), which organized transwomen of color in New York until the mid-90s. Rivera was also a member of the Young Lords, a Puerto Rican revolutionary group that was part of the growing anti-imperialist movement in the US at the time. Now deceased, Rivera was an agitator and activist who pioneered gay and women's rights issues within the Young Lords, alongside other powerful anti-imperialist women of color. She continued to be very active in the radical queer liberation movement in New York City until her death.
